AT FJ55 Project Vehicle

[elcoyote]

We are very fortunate to have been bequeathed a beautiful 1972 FJ 55 by our good friend Andrew. Not only is this beauty a restorers dream retro expo rig, she came with a tote bin full of new...yes new parts and a 3F EFI engine.

Although she was hard to get started after sitting for 7 months in a garage, with a phantom electrical problem, within the first day, we have managed to get the battery to hold a charge and she fires up on the first try! Gotta love the venerable pig!

Our goal over the next year is to turn this beauty into a retro expedition rig and our daily parts gofer with some juicy updates to make her a reliable head turning rig. Here's our preliminary list of items that we will be addressing during late night wrenching sessions at the AT workshop:

Front disc brake conversion
Rear disc brake conversion
Replacing original engine with the1993 3F EFI
Replacing 4 speed SM420 with an HF55 5 speed transmission
Power steering
Rear Ozi locker
Vintage Air A/C
Dual group 31 AGM batteries
Body rust repairs & paint (we're going 2 tone with Chaser Olive Gray & White)
Interior upholstery & refinishing
3" lift
33 x 15 x 10.50 BFG M/T on the stock rims

Future late night wrenching sessions will result in cool expedition goodies like:
Warn 9000 winch with synthetic winchline rope
Custom built front & rear bumpers (rear receiver hitch of course)
Engel 45 (duh!)
Eezi-Awn 1400 T-top
2 meter radio
GPS
Satellite Radio
Whatever other geeky expo stuff we dream up

Stay tuned here to see how this progresses.

[DaktariEd]

Sounds like a great plan, Mario!
Good luck....will be looking forward to see what you guys come up with...

So...when you're all finished with her, wanna bequeath her to me???

[Andrew Walcker]

Yes, the Pig LIVES!!! She looks great parked in front of AT World Headquarters! Glad you guys are going to take care of her. The 55s', IMHO, are what an overlander vehicle was all about in the late 60s and 70s and set the bar very high for Rover, Jeep and International in the 4 door market. The only thing tougher than the 55 was the rust that has plagued so many of them. They are the predecessor of the modern SUV with 4 doors, seating for 6 and an electric rear window and functional tailgate. I think that besides the old Nissan Patrols, they are the rarest of the older expedition vehicles found in the states anymore. I see maybe two a year in SoCal driving around.

Growing up I remember many a trip in a 55, driving up and down the coast with sailbaords strapped on top searching for wind! I even read somewhere that Steve Irwin, RIP, grew up in OZ driving a 55.

I love the direction you are taking the build as I think the planned mods will enhance the already legendary reliability and pedigree and compliment those, "OH, SO SEXY" lines! Long Live the PIG!

[locrwln]

I'm jealous, I love 55's. There was a couple that moved into the area where I grew up with a green and white one. I was probably 7 years old and I thought that thing was really cool. Must have been one of the first LC's I had ever seen.

Jack

[bigreen505]

This should be fun!

[gillti]

Mario, I couldn't believe it when Andrew said that you guys drove it away!! This is going to be fun to watch happen. Good luck!
Timothy

[spressomon]

It's begun!!! Can't wait to see the project as it progresses...and...oooooo: What will be the inaugural excursion to christen it when completed?!

[kcowyo]

I'm jealous, I love 55's.

[ntsqd]

I have wanted to put a 7M-GE in one of those for a couple years. Figured that would make it much more livable on today's US highways and still keep it all Toyota.

[elcoyote]

The 55 is very nostalgic for us too. Growing up in Ethiopia & Kenya in the early '70s, the vehicles to have were either the FJ55 or the LR109, and of course if you were a corrupt despot, you had a Range Rover. Scotty, our shop Mgr, has been around vintage LC & LR stuff so much of his life that I think he may have been conceived in the back of a 55! That man can wax poetic about cruiser lore.

Perhaps the inaugural Overland trip should be a quest for wind & waves...and that of course means fish. Hmmm, isn't there a quaint little peninsula a couple of hundred miles south of here?